High Energy, Gold & Vinyl
When Lioness Gym first reached out to me about creating an artwork for their entryway, I was immediately intrigued.
This was a project close to my heart , as I would be seeing it every day when I walked through the doors for my morning workout.
Lioness Performance is a women’s weightlifting gym in Berwick with a bold, playful spirit and a really clear sense of identity. They wanted a piece that would greet people the moment they walked through the doors—something that captured the high energy, fun, celebration, and sisterhood that defines their brand.
We started, as I always do, with a conversation.
They sent through a bunch of inspirational images—mostly of women together, lifting each other up (literally and metaphorically)—and their brand guidelines, including fonts and colour palettes. That gave me a great sense of what they were all about.
Bright, joyful, cheeky, unapologetically strong.
I pulled together a few initial designs that leaned into the idea of empowerment and community, but then they threw a little curveball—which I loved, honestly. They pivoted, asking for something a bit more abstract and high energy, without it necessarily being about women or weightlifting at all.
It was a creative challenge—and a fun one.
That shift opened the door to something more playful, with more movement, more alive.
Once we landed on a final concept, the next hurdle was figuring out size.
They weren’t totally sure what would work in their space, so I mocked up the design in a few different dimensions to help them visualise it on the wall. I also provided some pricing options so they could make an informed decision. (This is pretty standard in my commission process—I want clients to feel confident and clear every step of the way.)
The piece itself is mixed media: mostly acrylic, but with gold leaf details and, interestingly, vinyl lettering. That’s something I usually reserve for murals and signage, but we wanted the text to really pop and to be exact to their brand fonts. The vinyl gave the letters this crisp, dimensional feel on canvas that worked beautifully.
From first meeting to finished piece, the whole process took about three months.
The design phase was by far the longest, because it involved lots of back-and-forth tweaks—but once we locked in the final design, the actual creation came together smoothly.
This piece is a bit of a departure from my usual style—more graphic, higher contrast—but I loved making it. It’s got these wild little lionesses darting across the canvas, full of motion and energy, and there’s a real sense of joy in the colours and forms. It challenged me to try new techniques, and those experiments are now feeding into the new work I’m creating for upcoming exhibitions.
Every commission teaches me something, pushes me somewhere new—and that’s why I love doing them.
Want Your Own Custom Artwork?
If you're interested in commissioning a piece—whether for your business, your home, or even a mural—I'd love to hear from you.
The process starts with a conversation. If it's a mural, I’ll come out and do a site visit. If it’s a canvas piece, we’ll chat about what you’re after and what size you're thinking.
From there, I’ll send through a quote. It’s a 50% deposit to get started, then I begin the design phase. We go back and forth a little, refining the concept digitally, and once you're happy, I create the final piece. You can see progress pics along the way, or keep it a surprise until the end—totally up to you. Once it's approved, the final payment is due, and then your artwork is on its way to you!
